“Parachute investing is a problem. If you’re investing in early-stage companies from an airplane, you should consider philanthropy”
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari chats with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg during his visit to the presidential villa in Abuja, on September 2, 2016
When Mark Zuckerberg went to Kenya and Nigeria in 2016, he proclaimed that the future would be built in Africa. That same year, Y-Combinator accepted startups with African roots for its much sought-after accelerator program. But is Africa indeed the next frontier for Silicon Valley?
Not so fast, says Mercy Mutua, an investment manager based in Nairobi. Despite all the fanfare and media coverage, the venture capital scene in Africa, particularly beyond South Africa, remains nascent.
“There are few, if any, funds here that are run by Africans that invest in African-led companies. It’s all largely capital from the US and Europe, much of it going to foreign-led companies on the continent,” she says. “So how do we build the next generation of private equity funds or impact investors that are actually led by locals?”
Read the full story at Wired.co.uk
rethink social 